


The Cicada And The Storm

by Typewriter44



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), The Flash (Comics), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Adventure, Age Difference, Alternate Timeline, Angst, Anxiety, Barry Was Messing With Time Travel, Bisexual Leonard Snart, Blow Jobs, Cannon Up to Season 2 Finale, Canon-Typical Violence, Frottage, Gay Sex, Grief, Grinding, Guilt, Leonard Snart Lives, M/M, Mystery, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Child Abuse, Romance, Speed Force Says No, references to comics
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-10
Updated: 2016-12-06
Packaged: 2018-08-21 18:55:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8256737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Typewriter44/pseuds/Typewriter44
Summary: He fell and spun through a sky of stars, crashing across a thousand minutes until he came to land on the cold wet tarmac.  Everything was still and silent, even his heart had stopped beating a faint haze of golden light, the aftermath of his lightening fading under the cloudy night.  He was back on the street surrounded by the homes of quiet suburbia.
The moment was lost...he could try again...but something loomed in the back of his mind.
No he couldn’t.
------
Barry has messed with the Speed Force one time to many it seems, his attempt to save Nora Allen, his mother, goes awry and now he has caused ripples through time. As an unseen threat rears up in the city the only person who seems to feel the same sense of ill-at-ease is Leonard Snart.  
It turns out that this time around they may be exactly what the other needs.





	1. Prologue: Roll of Thunder

**Prologue: Roll of Thunder**

The lightning flashed out before him, coalescing into the Speed Force, he raced towards the past and felt himself breaching time and space. This was it. This time he would save her. This time he had to stop it...stop her death.

He could see the blade in his mind’s eye, his mother’s scream a beacon through time and space that he never left him, haunting his dreams since that night all those years ago.

No more failing the people he cared about.

His Mom. Eddie. His Dad. Jesus even Earth 2 Joe.

He could see it now, the haze of blue light parting before him the image of that familiar street forming...and then something struck him and there was a flash of pure energy as the solid force melted away into a flare of indescribable nothingness.

Oh God.

He fell and spun through a sky of stars, crashing across a thousand minutes until he came to land on the cold wet tarmac. Everything was still and silent, even his heart had stopped beating a faint haze of golden light, the aftermath of his lightening fading under the cloudy night. He was back on the street surrounded by the homes of quiet suburbia.

The moment was lost...he could try again...but something loomed in the back of his mind.

No he couldn’t.

It was gone.

The surge was gone. The urge was gone. 

So he leaned his head to the road and cried wordlessly for just a moment.

He heard the scream and felt the pain and he knew that nothing had changed.

He had failed her all over again.


	2. Standing The Heat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry comes to realize the changes that have taken hold since his failed attempt at running back into the past (Season 2 Finale, the point of divergence for this story). While he tries to find his way back Leonard Snart is coping with a feeling of - wrongness of his own and the consequences of Barry's action may be more far reaching than he knows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Barry entered the Speed Force to go back and save his mother from Eobard. He didn't make it to his mother's side - but something went awry and there will be consequences. More than one might expect, I have put an explanation or two down in the notes at the bottom and a few will be covered off in the upcoming chapters.
> 
> Please let me know your thoughts and such as it has always helped me engage and sustained my stories.
> 
> Also I ship Coldflash immensely but the smut won't be until next chapter.

**Chapter 1: Standing The Heat**  
Barry felt the waking set in as light streamed through the persistent gap in his blinds. Some things never changed. Ever since he was a child the curtains had never been closed properly, like a jury rigged alarm clock to make sure he woke up on time. If it wasn’t for the fact Joe couldn’t thread a needle he’d have suspected the detective of being behind it

A smile tweaked across his lips at the memory of Mrs. Daniels down the road coming to the rescue on Halloween and school plays.

“Barry?” the quiet voice outside the door caught his attention. 

“Yeah?”

Iris pushed open the door and Barry smiled as she came in, two cups of coffee in her hands, pushing the door open with her hip and moving forwards with a sincere smile. “You feeling okay?” she asked in that tone that she used to indicate she didn't expect to hear yes.

“Yeah” Barry smiled, knowing it didn't reach his eyes. “Frustrated. I really...ugh”

He accepted the cup of coffee and Iris sat on the edge of his bed like she had when Tony had wedgied him so badly he had thrown up, way back when. “We heard the cry from the house, what happened?”

Barry gulped down the hot sweet coffee and mulled over his response for a moment. “I wanted to go back and save my Mom...but I screwed up, I tripped and...” he waved his hand. “I couldn’t save her, just like before.”

Iris was frowning, a concerned frown, she reached out and put her hand on his shoulder, palm warm against the soft blue cotton. “That explains you collapsing with exhaustion. It wasn't just physical, it was emotional. I am so sorry Barry” she gave that smile she always gave that let him know she was there for him, any time, any place. “You have saved so many lives, done so much good, we’re here for you whatever you need.”

Barry smiled back at her. Something felt different.

Not wrong just different.

“It’s just I feel...like...after Dad...” he paused as the light caught something and practically dazzled him with Iris’ hand. Or more precisely the engagement ring on it.

“What?” he murmured, clasping her hand to get a look at the silver band housing a small diamond flanked by a sapphire on each side. 

Iris raised an eyebrow as Barry stared at her hand. “I thought you got a good enough look at the engagement party? Scotts barely gotten over his paranoia about everyone in the office thinking he’s taking sides.” She kissed the stunned speedster on the head. “Dad’s checked with Singh and your leave is still good for another two weeks. Though he knows you may need longer. So...let him know. I have to get to work, talk to you later?”

Barry nodded mutely his mind still three minutes behind and focusing on her marrying...Scott? 

Scott...Scott...the editor? The one who hated The Flash? No way...

He bolted out of bed in a crackling flicker of golden lightening and went straight to the mirror.

Nothing different physically...he felt different...there was a hollowness and absence...what was it? He couldn’t be sure but he felt it in his chest and behind his eyes.

It was ...otherly.

It didn't feel wrong just...not right...but not wrong just a different something.

He had changed something, somehow and been changed in the bargain. 

He needed help. Now.

 

 

**The Abandoned Rialto Picture Palace in Central City**

Leonard Snart found it fitting to wake in a cold sweat. Severely unpleasant but fitting.

If he was going to dream of terrible things then a cold sweat was definitely and essentially in keeping with his theme. “Lenny?”

Lisa’s voice came from outside the door. She was next door so if he had cried out she would have easily heard it. A wry smile flicked across his lips, it used to be him checking on her after all. “I’m fine” he called back.

“Then keep it down!” she shouted, but the edge in her voice was one of concern.

She knew full well that even in his dreams Leonard Snart did not cry out. Years under the thumb of Lewis Snart had seen to that. Shut up or get beat up had been the family rule and even then the latter had happened.

Control was key, he reminded himself.

Himself and Lisa were holed up in the old Rialto Picture House. Mick was around but he had been, frankly, weird for the past few weeks. Quieter. Dissatisfied. Very keen to watch Len’s every move in a way that just wasn’t like him.

Lisa had laid claim to the manager's office as her sleeping space of choice, while Len was across the hall in the projection room, the old projector itself was pushed up against a wall to give him space for a work bench and camp bed. It was a safe house but a risky one, it had memories.

He and Lisa used to sneak out to it and watch the classics played here, when their Grandfather had taken them out for a treat it had been to watch spaghetti westerns and classic action films. It felt so long ago, Len knew it was, him with his little sister sneaking in the back door with the skills they had learned from the man they were escaping. 

This place had memories and a part of Leonard Snart needed that right now. 

He dreamed of beams of light and brilliant white flashes that pulled him apart and the echo of the words “No Strings On Me”. Like from Pinocchio, that same flick they had seen here, grainy and misty on the one big screen framed with plaster and wood coated in flaking gold paint, sat in plush but threadbare seats sharing one box of milk duds because it was all they could afford or all they could safely steal.

Len lay back down and closed his eyes.

He felt off balance.

Out of sorts.

He needed a good heist to right his course.

Lest he crash on the rocks of … whatever this was.

 

 

**The CSI Overflow Lab, CCPD**

Barry looked at the man. 

Tight lipped and frowning? 

This was not going to go well.

“Barry Allen” he ventured

“Julian Dorn” the man replied in a British accent.

Hands were shook and nods were given. Dorn returned to work at his station. “You’re meant to be on leave, aren’t you?” his tone was cool and he didn’t even look up at the only other person in the overflow lab. “Did you forget something?”

It was so strange to see someone else here, the blonde was filling out a report at a neatly organized desk and studiously invading the space Barry had called his own for a long time. It was an utter intrusion and to make matters worse the guy was oozing dislike for Barry for some reason. The tension was wholly new to the room and Barry pretty much blamed this guy for it.

He might have had a really nice waistcoat but he was a grade A jerk.

“Just making sure I hadn’t left any stuff behind”.

So this was dislike at first sight. “Welcome to the CCPD” he ventured.

“Thanks” came the reply, cold and curt.

Barry bristled, went to his desk, put on an out of office alert on his emails and left the room with a goodbye injected with enough false sincerity to stagger an elephant.

Not my day, he thought, chalking Dorn up to yet another unfavourable element introduced to his life. The guy probably wasn’t that bad, Barry chastised himself, maybe he was having a bad day too?

The elevator groaned as it reached the ground floor and Barry stepped out of it, glancing to the old security camera and withstanding the urge to speed off. He had to get out to the parking lot and turn left...he recited that over and over until he reached the blind spot and could blur across the city to the Labs, whipping his costume on in a flicker of yellow lightning as he moved.

It was a familiar route...it was one he could push himself on with confidence.

He did.

He pushed.

But the Speed Force didn’t open to him.

It wasn’t hard to believe that perhaps, given it had demonstrated sentience, it was teaching him a lesson - but if that were the case why even let him try in the first place? He pushed harder, feeling the world begin the quiver and shake as it did before he entered the Speed Force - - but no success.

He couldn’t fix this. Not yet. He’d need to try again in the pipeline, maybe get Cisco and Caitlin on board, avoiding the disappointment, explanations and disbelief, gauging how different this world was could be either very difficult or very easy. If he pushed, maybe he could find that necessary drive, that urge to race into the past.

For now, the running was good. It gave him freedom to breathe and think in the whirling light of the blurring scenery, he had to figure out what had changed and how to change it back.

Something blurred past him carrying him off his course just enough that he needed to run along the side of a building to get back to the road he had been coursing down the middle of.

“Damn” he grimaced.

A cold shiver lanced through him at the thought of another speedster. Another Zoom or Thawne would not sit well for him. Eddie and his father had paid the price for a villainous speedster running loose. It took little debate to get him to give chase, sprinting in pursuit of the shimmering blur ahead of him. 

He could see a figure at it’s heart, flowing in a golden aura of light, he gained...and then it vanished, flickering away as he came skidding to a halt in front of an apartment building.

He dragged in a breath of the cool night air as his muscles burned at the stop.

The Flash had been out run somehow...that was bad...especially after all the work he had done to defeat Zoom. A shudder slid up his spine as he thought of a new villain, faster still, and the damage they could reap.

Then the building beside him, as if to prove a point, burst into flames.

 

 

**The Sheen Casino**

The icy hiss of the cold gun was a reassuring sound to hear as Len froze the brickwork wall solid. The support beams were several feet away and without the gun on its highest setting they would not be made brittle. He watched the bricks crumble away and reveal the solid steel plate. This had to be done quickly but carefully.

The Santini’s were always on the lookout for him but the back alley of this casino had no real protection. Why? It was too narrow for a truck and too cluttered for a car and the wall was solid stone and brick. That’s why Len had a motorbike and his cold gun on standby.

An easy and satisfying heist. Screwing over the Santini’s would help him fall into a familiar mindset and shake loose this niggling...something…

The highest setting of the cold gun was a bright glare even with his goggles on, but the metal gave a groan as the focused beam thrummed across it with its brilliant white fire. One good kick of a steel capped boot and a man sized patch crashed inward.

He had 4 minutes before they figured it out. 

He grabbed the wads of cash, jamming a collection of denominations into the satchel. The helpful count labels did the trick too of course, he had a target of 25k to make and he knew just how to do it thanks to their pedantic-ism for their dirty money. The sound of the lock disengaging came about 40 seconds earlier than he had hoped. One sharp blast of the cold gun at the hinges made up the difference in timing and allowed him to bound out into the alley.

That was the thing about Casinos, he mused as he leaped onto his bike and strapped the spoils onto the back, daytime was when they didn't have enough men to pry open a vault door AND block the four different exits of the alley system behind their building.

His bike roared to life as he pulled down the visor on his helmet and with a sardonic wave to the mobsters in the side alley he sped off into the city.

Lisa had wanted to come with, especially with bike’s involved and he respected that...he had still said no, even though her gun could have more effectively sealed off the side door and vault in the caper. This needed to be about him and if Lisa were there Len would have been watching over her like he had every day since she was born. He needed to stress test his own mind because of course he would function perfectly if his annoying brat of a sister might find herself in peril.

He slowed the bike down, he could feel Lisa’s texts buzzing as they hit the phone, to appease her and her fear for him (ever since Lewis she had been worrying...) he had turned on a GPS tracker on his phone, normally it was just for team heists but she had done the “Le-nnnyyy” thing and he had caved as usual.

He stopped outside Madam Wu’s massage parlor and took out his phone. {On my way back, got the groceries} he texted.

{Great. Hope ur less scowly}

Len grimaced and revved up the bike again just to make himself feel more into the moment again. Just enough to… a blur of red and gold swept past him, it was the Flash alright, no doubt about it, he must have been focused on something else because he didn’t seem to register Captain Cold straddling a motorcycle with his cold gun on his leg and his parka pulled back. Helmet or no it was pretty distinctive...the parka if not the cold gun, at least had a memorable aesthetic...

Despite himself Len cut through the red light, to the tire screams and irate howls of drivers, and went after the blurring figure. Part of his mind was utterly baffled by the urge to pursue, the other wanted to keep an eye on what was going on in the city, yet another evil speedster was simply too many and you know what they say: Third Time’s a Charm.

The Flash vanished out of sight for only a moment, as Len rounded a corner he found Barry on the street, which was odd in and of itself. Honestly though if it hadn’t been him, that baby faced CSI clad in skin tight red leather standing in the middle of the street that caught Len’s attention it would have been the explosion of flame to burst forth from the apartment building.

Trust the flash to be one step ahead for trouble.

Honestly he should have turned away and ridden off but Len couldn’t help himself. 

He needed to see what happened next.

 

 

**Elsewhere in Central City**

The man opened his eyes, the lines on his face seemed deeper in the candle light. “The time is now” he whispered. Though he spoke softly it resonated louder by the echoes in the silenced halls of the ruined building.

He picked up the jagged blade in the makeshift leather handle, his silhouette now brandished a lightning bolt like an avenging God. A God? Perhaps. Perhaps he was.

The time was now.

The portents were in their favor. 

The work had begun but now it had begun in truth. The epilogue was ended and the main event had begun.

He clutched the knife in his wizened hands and stepped forth into the dark and towards his destiny.

 

 

**In Front of the Towering Inferno**

Running into burning buildings is neither wise nor easy, Barry reflected. If opened the wrong door or hit the wrong thing he could make everything even worse. People were staggering put, coughing and spluttering, an elderly woman was shouting out about the people trapped inside...it all happened so fast.

The Flash acted of course, darting up the side of the building and back down with a middle aged woman in his arms. He sprinted to a window where a woman was trying to climb onto the fire escape but was just too far away to make the jump. He grabbed her and went back for her husband and son, blurring through the apartment to the kitchen to sweep them up. 

“Barry?!” Caitlin’s voice crackled across the earpiece. “Whats going on? Your suit’s heating up, what’s causing it?”

“Fire. Lots of it” Barry replied as he fanned smoke out of the way with rapid revolutions of his arms and helped an elderly man up from the ground. “I don’t know the cause but it’s pretty bad the whole place is a towering inferno”

Cisco chimed in. “No kidding, we have the entire local fire brigade on call to you, the buildings a Kenyon Properties one -”

“As in Keith Kenyon the slum lord?” Caitlin enquired, a note of disdain in her voice.

“You can get sued for that” Cisco chided playfully. “He’s big in with the City Council and the Mayor...but yeah Slum Lord. Maybe he set this place on fire to fund a holiday?”

Barry zipped around the next floor, making his way down the building as he got people onto the fire escape or out of the building. The beams gave a groan overhead. Smoke and debris often did more damage than the flames...and this building was about to come crashing dow.

“Barry even we heard that” Cisco called out.

“I got this!” Barry shouted, his voice loud and raw as the cries for help reached his ears and drove him on down the building.

 

 

**Across the Street from the Inferno**

He was taking his time and that fire was getting...intense.

The roof of the top level gave a crack and collapsed inwards to the screams of spectators. Years in Mick’s company had provided Len with a sense for thr ins and outs of a burning building. The structural integrity and smoke usually did a majority of the killing in these situations...how many apartments were there? How many people in each?

“Come on, Scarlet” Len growled despite himself.

He frowned and leaned forward on the handles of the bike, resting his chin on his arms and frowning for a moment.

Of all things he doubted this would be enough to bring The Flash down. 

There was, however a LOT of smoke…

“Damn it” he grunted, swinging off the bike and adjusting his cold gun settings.

 

 

**In the Burning Building**

Barry wasn’t sure if he was hallucinating or not. 

“Barry, the heat in the building is dropping, is everything okay?” Caitlin called. “Your breathings erratic” she added. “You need to cover your mouth if you want to keep working on all that smoke.”

Honestly the breathing thing was more...panic,

The hall through the middle of the building was ablaze and he was trying to vacuum the air from the flames but it wasn’t working because he couldn’t get the speed right and people were calling for help just beyond the sheets of flame...his mind was swimming with everything around him and he couldn’t think straight anymore.

The heat was dropping, the flames slowly dimming down as he whirled his arms to draw in smoke and oxygen and kill the flames. It was getting colder and colder somehow on the floor … the Speed Force had a...tentative affection with physics at the best of times but this was definitely not it's doing.

“Weird” Cisco murmured. “That said the rapid change in heat won’t help the structural integrity of the building. Kenyon probably skimped on the materials for a velour jumpsuit”.

Barry was already moving again, pulling doors open and whisking people down the stairs where the fire was already sputtering from a lack of heat. His breath feathered the air now and the building have another moan of protest...yet somehow it held. Once again luck saved Barry Allen.

Part of him resented it, deep down, the fact he needed to get lucky to win...even defeating Zoom had been luck on a gamble. He felt his body flood with a fresh energy, a harsh, hot one, but the energy he needed to pump through the corridors and apartments as the Firemen battled the blaze outside. So many apartments were empty, thank fuck, he crashed through doors and raced to the ground level hoping he hadn’t missed anyone...his eyes fell on the hand in the lobby. It jutted out of a doorway and the debris gathered around it like a picture frame

It was a large hand, definitely a man’s, charred black and blistered red, the back of the palm split open in what looked like a lightening bolt of broken flesh and vibrant gore. Barry could hear Caitlin and Cisco over his earpiece but his mind was stuck on the hand and the arm...and the body…

The lobby seemed to melt away around him as he stepped away from the maintenance door and everything rushed past until he was standing on a rooftop overlooking the dwindling fire and thick smoke of the building. A bizarre pattern covered the buildings side in white crystalline ice, an inch thick and decreasing by the minute.

“You’re welcome, Flash” the tone was unmistakable, like the voice. The anger filled Barry suddenly taking away the breathlessness with a hot tide of fury. In a flicker he had Leonard Snart by the parka and was pushing him into a wall. 

“Where’s Mick, where’s Heatwave!?” he snarled, arm lashing out to grab the wrist before it could grab the gun. Cold hadn’t had it drawn which was odd but his goggles were down and his smirk remained immoveable. “I swear if he did this-”

“He didn’t” Cold replied in that cold, level headed tone of his. “Mick’s been a bit off lately, he’s not as ...random arson as he used to be.”

Barry couldn’t see a lie on his face, but Snart was hard to read. “Then why are you here?”

“Curiosity” Cold responded, he didn’t deign to struggle, that would undermine his cocky presentation. “Plus the chance to get you to owe me one...again”.

Barry was losing track at this stage, the back and forth of who owed whom was kind of dizzying, especially right now with the smells and sounds still echoing in his skull. He let Snart go, the criminal rubbed his wrist gently and watched as Barry stepped away, eyes cast to the ground but looking at something else.

“Not the time Snart” Barry murmured, tapping his communicator but finding it silent. He checked the battery but the switch was off. When had that happened? He paused, hand drifting over the on switch.

“Something wrong, Scarlet?”

“Plenty” Barry grunted. “Nothing you would understand”.

“Fine” Snart replied, raising his hands casually and walking towards the rooftop fire escape. “Would a thank you kill you?”

There was another flash and Barry spun Snart to face him. He felt like he had something to say or shout about but no words came to him. Snart glared at him expectantly. “Well? What is it? Some of us have places to be” Leonard's voice died in his throat as Barry looked at him.

There was something there, that lost look that Leonard had seen before, the weight of the world and no one else to shoulder it, the confusion and vertigo of uncertainty in everything. “It's all wrong” Barry managed.

“Yeah, yeah I know” Snart replied quietly.

He meant it, Barry knew he meant it, knew he got it, he pulled his mask off and to Leonard's eyes he had never looked more young and vulnerable, on the verge of releasing a well of tears that had been backed up for who knows how long? 

Suddenly Barry kissed him. The younger man’s lips finding Leonards and kissing them chastely, softly. As the kiss broke Snarts confusion felt evident, but before Barry could get even three inches away Snart pulled him close and kissed him again. 

This Kiss was more liked it, his tongue flicked across Barry's soft pink lips and slipped inside as permission was granted. He kissed hard, tongue rousing Barry’s to dance and hands finding the red leather clad ass some could clutch it and pull the speedster’s body in closer still, the hardness under the suit pressing to Leonard’s own denim covered arousal. There was a need in the friction and a rightness that practically stole his breath away.

Barry made a soft whimpering noise into the kiss, his hands were trapped between their bodies and it felt okay, just gave up control to Leonard Snart and felt a weight lift off his bdoy. Captain Cold kissed like Robin Hood, taking what he wanted and giving back what was needed. Somehow he just accepted Barry, the kiss, the contact, the feeling, it washed it all away.

Just for a while.

Just long enough.

They broke the kiss and Snart pulled the goggles down his face as he took a step back. “What is it you want, Scarlet?”

Barry swallowed.

“I...uh...I’ve never...” he was shaking. “More. Please.” He choked out the words in a town far more desperate than he should. “I just...I just need this”.

Snart watched him, unresponsive, for a moment and then walked forwards, winding an arm around Barry’s waist, palm caressing the swell of his ass as he dodged Barry's lips to press soft kisses to his throat and neck and up to his ear where he whispered. “Careful what you wish for.”

Barry nodded, brain fuzzier than before now that his blood flow had a diversion in the south. All he could do was beg more...the beeping in his headset signaled Cisco and Caitlin turning on his GPS. It was now or never.

Snart cocked his head to one side and watched as Barry turned on the communicator.

“It’s okay guys” he said. “Sorry”

He knew his voice was distant, he could hear the concern in Caitlin's when she asked “Barry, what happened?”

“I didn’t save everyone” he choked out, noticing how Snart straightened up at that admission. “I need some time, I can drop the suit back tomorrow but...just...I need some space and privacy”

“Sure thing man” Cisco cut across a burgeoning counter argument by Caitlin. “Take your time.” 

He shut the line off before his companion in the Labs could disagree. Barry was thankful for that...he kept his eyes on Snart, afraid if he looked away...the man would vanish.

“What now?” Barry asked softly.

Snart beckoned and walked towards the fire escape. “Follow me”.

So Barry did.

 

 

 

**In An Apartment Across Town**

The blade shimmered in the fading light of the day. It was getting dark out early now as Autumn crept on. By the time he reached his destination it was already dark overhead. The apartment was modest, a lower-middle income home. The rap on the door roused the sole occupant and drew him to the door, feet falling on the carpet beyond.

“Hello, Ed”

“Oh” the man opened the door and gave a confused smile. “Hello there, Allan wasn’t it?”

“Yes. To you”

“Hm?”

The hand reached out and clasped Ed’s hand immediately he was short of breath, head spinning. Ed was a tall man, in his 50s but strongly built...he choked in horror, his mind swimming with images and thoughts that he couldn’t understand. The grasp on his hand was like a vice and he fell to his knees as his guest pushed him into the apartment and closed the door behind him. “I hope you know that you are part of the greater work, Edward, you are touched by the lightening, I pray that you were touched enough by it.”

The Jagged blade drove into Ed’s heart in one swift movement, the strength behind it was ferocious...and with a gasp Ed died. The death was instant a faint shine of gold catching the light of the blade and soaking into the veins on the killers body.

“Ah...not enough...alas...but I shall continue the work.”

He kneeled down by the body and set to the last of his rites.

**To Be Continued**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I will be addressing Iris' engagement in an upcoming chapter, I swear. 
> 
> There's more too it than you might think. While I am no huge fan of Iris/Barry or anything I won't be short changing a character based on that.
> 
> Yes DC Legends of Tomorrow will be touched upon, not hugely but it too will have it's part to play.
> 
> Also I included Julian Dorn because...Tom Felton and it's good to have friction, it adds to drama.
> 
> Keith Kenyon is a character in DC Comics just with a bit of a remodel for the purposes of this story. The same goes for Cicada (who has an interesting reason as to why he is called that).


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry and Len find a little adult catharsis together and go their separate ways. Barry has to cut his leave short and help investigate the fire but soon discovers the first thread in a complex tapestry of things going on beneath the surface. Len starts planning a heist but Mick is still acting weird and something remains...amiss in hismlife.
> 
> WARNING: Smut ahead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy this chapter, many thanks to LadyErin, kritten, TeaFrida JezzyBell and Scarlet Hawke for the kudos and bookmarks etc. Yersifanel thanks for commenting its much appreciated for the reassurance. Also thanks to the guests who kudos'd this.
> 
> Smut is both easy and hard to write (giggity) but expect more, as it is this chapter contains very light stuff.
> 
> I am keeping the smut plan pretty flexible (like Barry, double giggity) as I don't know Barry and Le will only be getting with one another etc. Thoughts on this would be appreciated as Hartley will be making an appearance and other folks so I may let Len and Barry be the core relationship with sattelites, I dunno, just spitballing here. 
> 
> Given the nature of the show I may cast certain main characters so you have a mental image. Case in point: Keith Kenyon is played in my brain by Christopher Meloni of Oz and Law and Order SVU fame.
> 
> Over time I will be revealing the changes wrought by Barry's meddling and his little fall so bare with me on that front. Slow burn revelations for all! 
> 
> I am not TOTALLY happy with the pacing but I hope you enjoy it. Please let me know I live for comments amd kudos.

**Chapter 2: Cold to the Touch**

Barry followed Snart.

He followed him diligently and anxiously and very obediently.

Leonard smiled at that one. He was used to the Flash tailing or chasing or pursuing but being followed was new. The sirens wailed but Snart ignored them, they weren’t coming for him, they were dealing with the fire and the fall out. He had plenty of time.

He also had options. He removed his parka and handed it to Barry. “Put it on” his tone was firm but gentle. Barry shook a little bit but accepted the coat, pulling it onto his lithe frame and zipping it up. It looked odd with the tight red leather on his legs but it also made him look...cute.

Len straddled his bike. “Get on” he said in the same commanding voice. Once again the speedster complied, wrapping his arms around Len’s midsection and holding tight. The giddy thrill of the hero riding to a hideout with him with stolen mob money contributed to Len’s wry smile. 

The bike roared off and Barry clutched tightly, pulling closer to Len as they picked up speed, leaving the charred husk of the building behind them as they did. Len wove through traffic and side streets with a practiced ease. He didn’t really have a plan, which was new for him, but the fact was that he was not going to pass up … whatever the hell came next.

Len was a bisexual man with eyes. He had seen the Flash. The real problem had come when he met the man under the mask, lips and eyes and skin and hair and everything about him that screamed purity and wholesome goodness. He’d killed a man to get to Barry - and Barry had saved his sister and still protested there was more to him than just a criminal.

Bad choices notwithstanding there was a naive charm to the Scarlet Speedster who was always trying to do the right thing, who always seemed to be leading a charge or righteous crusade. Perhaps if 30 years ago Central City had been home to someone like him, Len and Lisa would have been quasi functional members of polite society.

So a part of him had started to see the Speedster in a certain way.

Not romantic, Len didn’t have the time for romance, sexual most assuredly, he had eyes, as mentioned previously, that body was by no means easy to ignore. There was a fascination in it, a longing and an intrigue toward the very nature of the CSI Speedster. 

He could nip that in the bud right now and clear it from his mind and his bucket list.

The bike stopped at the old records hall, a looming art deco building three stories hall with golden beige walls. The side of the building had a place he could hide the bike and stairs down to one of his safehouses. “Come on” he said quietly as he pulled a key from his pocket and descended the steps to unlock the door.

Cuts in the city budget had put a skeleton staff on the old building at the best of times and that was before the STAR Labs incident, the place was nothing more than a storage unit for paper now with a few staffers there to file things during the day and one security guard. It had been easy to rig the alarm so he could switch it off with a select code, no one paid much heed to you if you had the an alarm company jumpsuit and reams of paperwork that no one wanted to read through.

He tapped 5472 into the box by the door and stepped into the narrow, vaulted side corridor. The dust was getting out of hand in places but the office marked Facilities was immaculately clean if a bit drab.

Barry followed him in still looking nervous but obedient in his stance and expression.

Len hesitated for a moment as he turned on the light, the office had a sofa with a fold out bed, a desk that was devoid of everything but a lamp and a disused phone and filing cabinets that had as much stuff stacked on them as in them.

Rose petals and candlelight it was not.

For a moment Len wondered if the moment had passed and if he should have just jumped the Flash back on the rooftop. Then the speedster stepped forward into Len’s space and leaned in for a kiss. 

It started chaste and soft but there was a need that grew with the contact and teeth and tongues soon came into play and there was the moan again. Len broke the kiss and looked at Barry. “We have the place to ourselves, Scarlet, the security guard never comes down here and even if he did I changed the padlock at the end of the hall” he kissed those soft lips quickly. “You’re all mine.” 

Barry nodded. “Okay” he murmured. 

Another kiss and he gasped out “Please”. 

They were both hard again and that thrilling need and vulnerability was pouring off the younger man. Len nudged the park off the Flash costume and slowly unzipped it baring the soft, smooth expanse of unblemished skin. There was a bit of a clasp to work out around the logo, fortunatel arousal cleared the technical mind in some cases and Len made short work of that obstacle.

He unzipped it to Barry's navel and slid his hand inside, glove discarded so he could totally enjoy the soft smoothness under the red leather. Barry made a soft noise as the hand teased the suit off his shoulders and exposed his pert pink nipples to the air, his breath hitching as a hand caressed them.

Noises alone threatened to make Len cum in his pants. He pulled off his other glove and tugged the suit down to Barry's slim hips. He marvelled at that body, even any sign he had been hit by the hot and cold guns in tandem was gone. His eyes raked over the skin and muscle...he pulled Barry in for another kiss, his hands and fingers sliding over ribs and shoulders as they kissed again, the heat was rising between them and Len hefted Barry into his arms, the speedsters legs wrapping around his hips and making him angle his head to keep kissing.

He needed this.

They needed this.

Whatever the something they shared was it was palpable, he could taste it on Barry’s tongue.

He laid Barry out on the desk pulling away to Marvel at the breathless young man lain out on the table. Barry stared up at him like a deer in headlights. Len was in control here and he understood what it meant.

“How far do you want to go?” he asked again.

“I don’t know”

“Then say when” Len replied. He kissed Barrys throat and neck, his collarbone and shoulder, down across the pert pectorals with a moment spared to lick and kiss his nipples resulting in a moan that was utterly pornographic, he licked down to the navel and stopped as he neared the bright blue band of Barry Allen's boxer shorts.

The last bit of the flash clung to him here and Len looked up to meet Barrys gaze.

“Yes” Barry said. “I want you to...um...” the blush filled already flushed cheeks, crawling down his neck and to his chest. 

When the kid blushed he really blushed.

Fuck it was cute.

Len tossed the costume onto the sofa as he peeled it off the legs and hips of his bartner. The blue and white striped boxers were soaked with precum clinging to Barry's well proportioned erection which was straining for release. Len kissed it through the cotton and smiled as Barry’s hips bucked. 

The vulnerability was more acute now, stripped of his costume by one of his deadliest enemies and lying on a desk in an almost abandoned building. Len kissed the inside of Barry's thigh as the kid rested his heels on the edge of the desk and bent his knees as if to display himself for Len.

There was an exhibitionist streak in there somewhere, Barry was a natural and Len wondered if he could tease more of that to the surface. 

No that was too long term, come morning, or just come cumming, Barry would be gone and things would be back to normal. Len kissed along the outline of the erection, tracing it with his tongue next to cause Barry to quake and buck in a flicker of super speed. “Not so fast, Flash, I don’t want this to be over too soon” he smirked.

“God...Snart” Barry whimpered as his nemesis’ tongue teased his length through his soaked underwear before the thief stated mouthing his balls through the fabric. Len could see him scrabbling to hold on to himself, the desperate fear of letting go painted all over his face. 

Len stood up between Barrys thighs and slowly raked his fingers along them.

“Oh GOD!”

“I’m listening” Snart mocked gently, pressing his hard, eager groin to Barry’s. “Something you want?” He ground his hips and savoured the rapid panting he heard. Barry tried to grind at lightening speed against him but got a slap to the thigh in reprimand. “Use your words, not your powers” he chided.

Barry's Adam’s apple bobbed. “Pleasejustdoit” 

“What?”

“Anything” Barry said softly, faintly, carefully.

Len looked him over. He knew what was needed.

He grasped Barry's underwear and pulled, splitting the seams and freeing the engorged member from the cotton, he shredded clean through the elastic band, throwing them across the room and descending on the rigid cock with his mouth.

It was hot against his tongue, salty, sweet and throbbing in his mouth as he deep throated all seven inches in one go. “OH GOD! SNART!!!” he felt Barry buck and clasping at Len’s head, fingers curling in the tight stubble of his head. 

Len somehow managed to suck a dick with a smirk, head down, focused on the job as his hands busied themselves. One toyed with Barry's balls , teasing and caressing them while the other clasped a ring tight around Barry’s manhood to keep him under control.

Len slid up the shaft to swirl his tongue around the head and tease across the slit, eliciting another lewd cry from the speedster on the desk. “F...ah....ngh” Barry croaked, apparently unable to bring himself to swear. Captain Cold leased the point on the base just near the head that almost always did the trick… the super speed buck of thd hips nearly knocked him backwards.

“Oh God” Barry gasped, this time in mild horror. “I am SO sorry-”

His words gave way to whimpering as a bite was applied to his hip. “Be good” Len warned. “Or I might have to leave you like this” he chided. “No rushing it” he stroked the soaking wet cock slowly and revelled in the sight of Barry arching his back in bliss. “Maybe I would leave you hear, make you wait for someone else to find you and...take care of you.”

Barry looked at him a dull expression on his face from the blissful haze wrapping his brain. “I’ll be good. I just lost control” he promised but Len noticed the twitch of his cock at the idea of being left exposed. 

So many subtle layers, Barry Allen.

So many sordid layers too.

He wrapped Barry’s legs around his waist and pinned his hips to the desk with his hands. He leaned down close to the hard young cock. “I won’t finish until you behave” he warned as his breath tickled the sensitive flesh. “Will you be good?”

Barry nodded mutely and hissed through his teeth as Snart unzipped his trousers and pulled his dick out through his boxers so that it rested against Barry’s thigh. It felt big, thick definitely, as Snart pressed it against Barry’s there was a size difference for sure maybe as much as three inches more than Barry, though he couldn’t be sure.

“Ah” Barry groaned as he was pulled into Snarts chest their cocks grinding together as Len kissed him again and hefted him into his arms. The friction was intense and the moans and whimpers from Barry into Len’s mouth grew in frequency and pitch. 

“Fuck, Allen, you love this don’t you?” Len growled, breaking the kiss to press Allen onto the desk and grind harder against him. He nipped at Barry’s throat knowing a hickey was pointless as it healed in minutes but still wanting to mark the twink.

“Yes, God, yes” Barry cried out, another kiss distracting him as the friction built deliciously between them and he let Leonard Snart drive him deeper into a haze of pleasure. “Oh God, Snart, I-I-I can’t...”

Snart smiled. “Cum for me Barry” he growled.

So Barry did. The pit of his stomach filled with liquid heat as he bucked his hips, feeling Len pull away and his cock spew seemingly endless ropes of cum across his chest, the first few even catching his neck and jawline. He whimpered and moaned as his hips thrust of their own accord and bucked until he was spent.

The sight pushed Len off the edge, pumping his hand along the sizeable prick he had the sprawled speedster soon found a load being fired across his body to join his own as Len cam with a groan.

Stillness settled in the office and Len looked at Barry who had a hand over his face but a healthy blush in place. The panting was the only sound from either man before it too subsided and left a stunned silence.

Len buckled his pants up again and watched as Barry looked around for something to clean himself up with. Good luck with that.

“That was...” Barry fumbled for words in the way he did sometimes, eyes darting around as if hoping for a sign advising him what to do had been pinned to the wall.

“Just what you needed? Yeah me too” Len shrugged. He picked up his Parka and pulled it on. “You’re welcome.”

Barry started as if about to say something he quickly swallowed. “I didn’t uh” his blush was returning. “I mean...you didn’t...I didn't ...for you...”

“No need kid, you gave me a hell of a show, I think my enjoyment was evident” he gestured at the cooling puddles on Barry's chest. He had intended to go further but… “If you want to play again let me know. Anytime.” 

Barry stared at him in shock, mouth struggling to form words. 

“Ok” he croaked finally.

Len would have grinned but that would have given the game away. He turned to walk out of the office but Barry called out.

“Wait!”

“What up for round two already?”

Actually the kid was recovered enough for his dick to apparently chub at that idea...that was quite the refractory period he had. “Uh” Barry was as red as the suit that lay half on the floor and half on the couch. ‘“No. I mean...you said you felt everything was wrong...before we...do you mean it? Do you feel stuff is wrong?”

Len blinked owlishly and turned away. “Yes. Something feels wrong. Don’t know what. Don’t care enough” the last part was a lie, but tipping a hand so early was unwise. “Might care some other time, you know, when it gets in my way.” 

That should be enough to hook Barry into keeping him in the loop. The kid wanted to make a hero of him and any shot at that was unlikely to get passed up.

He left Barry to his thoughts and headed for the cinema. No flicker of lightning followed him, rather to his dismay, but Lisa was already poised to launch a thousand questions when he got in the door. It was his own fault of course, being nearly two hours behind schedule...apparently time flies when you’re toying with a lightning charged twink.

“What took you?” she exclaimed. “I was about ready to grab Mick and either storm Santini’s casino or trawl the riverbed”

“I got delayed. Had to make sure I lost them” he replied pulling off his parka and hanging it by his workbench in the main viewing room.

“Then why did you ignore my texts?”

“Because I’m not a glutton for punishment”

She punched his arm and then hugged him. “So. You got the money?” she smiled, hands tapping away at the thick black leather of the motorcycle side bag. 

“Yeah” he grunted. 

“So will you tell me what the heist is?”

“Nope”

“Lenny!”

“We have more steps to take sis, but let's just say...you’re gonna like it”

 

**STAR Labs**

Barry felt looser as he ran, on the outside...and not like...like That.

He felt relaxed. 

As he skidded to a halt outside STAR Labs he rubbed his stomach through his suit. He felt sticky and dirty and kind of great. It was so weird.

In a good way.

Snart had made him forget everything for just a while, which was exactly what he needed right now, now he felt a bit more reassured and rested, ready to see what his alterations had wrought and work to fix it all.

Caitlin and Cisco were in the hub working away at the consoles and talking in low voices.

“Hey” Barry said slowly.

“Barry!” they sounded cautiously cheerful, a sign they hadn’t forgotten why he had needed some space. A man had died and Barry still felt the burden of not being fast enough, not having looked in the lobby first, but he had to act, if he could figure things out, maybe find the speedster he had chased to the building...maybe then he could make this right.

“How you doing?” Cisco ventured.

His hair looked shorter. That could be post time travel anxiety talking though, he had already noticed minor changes, like the fact he had a costume at home now, or where the bowls were in Joe’s kitchen, now his mind was latching on to new ones.

“I’m...okay” Barry said as he pulled his caul back to reveal his face, worrying only afterwards that somehow “Just Got Off With Leonard Snart” might have written itself in bright blue across his face. “Any other reports from the fire?”

Caitlin spun on the spot with too much eagerness to give him the answer. That was either very good or very bad. “Yes! No other fatalities and the fire marshall is on the scene, though the media are already pointing fingers at Keith Kenyon”

Barry nodded. “Any particular reason?”

Cisco gave a shiver. “Ugh scum of the scum, my aunt used to rent from him, he was big in with the organized crime, nasty piece of work, my aunt moved out and the property went vacant...then burnt down in a so called gas leak with a nice insurance pay off for Mr. Kenyon, pity the two neighboring buildings were really trashed in the fire, they didn't have his insurance policy.”

Cisco showed him the burnt out house with two damaged neighbors, one on each side, half scorched beyond recognition. “Oh man” he murmured. 

“Kenyons claimed legitimacy since” Caitlin added as she brought up the rest of the files off the server. “He is a construction and property mogul who has a big in with city hall and the unions apparently. Over the past 6 years he hasn’t had any fires or anything.”

“But six years ago he had lots of them” Cisco chimed in, displaying dozens of newspaper articles from the same 3 month period. “Right around the time some of his friends needed campaign funds”.

Cisco crossed his arms on his chest. “So if the verdict is Arson we should check Kenyon’s payout.”

“If it’s Arson he’s a murderer” Barry said coldly. 

Or was he? Had Kenyon expected people to die? The building hadn’t been full, plenty of abandoned rooms...but it was still a slum… “I think I saw another speedster or something” he said, feeling the pair turn to look at him as he stared at the screen full of data. “There was this golden blur that shot past me and lead me to the apartment. I think it might have caused the fire, I lost sight of it right before the blaze started”

Cisco gave that smile he gave when naming villains. “Ooh a golden blur, I can work with that”.

Barry grimaced. “I’d love to go a few weeks without an evil Speedster” he murmured. “That’d be swell”.

He could feel the tension settling into his shoulders, pressing down on him yet again and the urge to flee welled up inside him. Another day another terror at the speed of light.

“Did you get a good look at them?”

“No, no such luck” he sighed, darting off to change and returning in a flicker of light. “Just gold with a figure at the middle.”

“Well if they can access the speed force I may have just the thing” Cisco grinned. “I figured we were due another Speedster Baddie...because we’re 2 for 2 on them...so I designed a program that allows us to scan for the unique electrostatic trails you guys leave. You move too fast for it to track but it’ll alert us to the general area of a speed force emission.”

With a flourish he brought the city map up and spread his arms in classic Cisco fashion. “Ta-Daaaa” he added jazz hands for good measure.

The Map was just a map.

“Looks great, Cisco” Caitlin teased.

“Well, no evil Speedsters yet” Cisco sighed. “But this will bring the win when there are. I coded it to exclude Barry’s suit GPS chip for good measure.”

Barry clapped his friend on the shoulder. “Thanks, Cisco.”

“I got your back, yo” Cisco grinned with a wiggle of his eyebrows. 

Barry got the once over from Caitlin in the medical bay and then headed for home once she confirmed a clean bill of health. Honestly he needed to crash and rest, maybe get a good night's sleep for once.

He waved to Wally and Joe on the couch and headed to his room to sleep after the proper pleasantries had been exchanged. Weariness grasped him, the sort of weariness that came from the very core of your being on a deep and spiritual plane of exhaustion, he shrugged off his shirt, kicked off his shoes and dropped his trousers, falling asleep as he hit the mattress with only a niggling reminder he hadn't showered yet.

 

**CSI Lab 3, CCPD**

“Barry, we need you to come in”

Captain Singh’s 8am call had been more of a relief than he had expected. Apparently they were stretched kind of thin today as two CSIs had gotten food poisoning from that dodgy diner down near the precinct and the only other options were on Honeymoon in Rome right now so...not actually options.

Dorn was swamped too so riding to the rescue might thaw the prickly Brit towards him.

Things did not get off to a flying start when the CC Jitters order was met with a frosty “I don’t drink coffee” and a pointed leaving of the cup on the kitchenette countertop.

Like an idol to the gods of passive aggression.

The silence of the lab was ruined by Julian Dorn. Everything felt much closer now, squashed, and there was no soft patter of rain on the window when the clouds breached...that was overwhelmed by Dorn’s existence, his cough or the sound of pencils in a cup being moved around.

Barry couldn’t even zap around the lab to streamline everything.

Dorn glared at Barry every time he did anything, narrowing his eyes at him over the barricade of files he had made on his desk. With all the dirty looks he was getting, Barry felt he might as well have not showered this morning.

“Hmph” Dorn muttered.

“Something wrong?”

“Nothing you need to worry about”

“Ooookay”

He extracted another file from his mountain and left Dorn to his vagaries as he double checked some lab results off the submitted sample. Check and double check as Singh would say. 

Then he’d criticize Barry for something - fortunately now he didn’t have to walk back to the main precinct anymore, he had Julian Albert Dorn across the office from him to do that if he so much as creaked in his chair.

No one had really explained why they disliked each other but he was getting it now, try as he might he couldn’t get past the fact that Julian Dorn and he just did not click. There was a tension that meant each failing to one was a victory to the other in the most petty and pathetic ways.

His brain had cheered when Dorn had dropped a pencil.

Officer Stevens swung by with a box of evidence to be processed from an aggravated assault outside a bar and Barry set to work on it. There was another sharp intake of breath from Julian. “Do you need an inhaler or something?” Barry asked as he turned to look at Julian.

“No” Julian said icily, eyes darting to the computer screen as the IM went off on both consoles. “Singh wants a CSI consult in his office. Think you can manage that? I’m busy.”

“Suuuuuure” Barry rolled his eyes as he packed the box back up. “Anything for you”.

“Good chap”

Barry was tempted to throw a microscope at Dorn’s head but resisted the urge, just barely. This guy REALLY got under his skin. He pulled off his gloves and headed out into the hall, casting a glance back at Julian who had forgotten his existence again immediately. The other CSI was poring over his files intently and jotting notes down into a small brown leather notebook.

Best leave him to it, Barry thought. 

As Barry came down the stairs he saw Joe and Iris and...Scott. he had seen the guy in bylines previously but he had to keep his focus on this reality, he had met the guy in person before. Joe was laughing at something Scott had said, a deep, hearty chuckle, Iris was beaming and had her hand on her...fiancès chest.

“Hey Bear” Joe smiled as Barry approached slowly. “Thanks again for coming in to give us a hand.” he seemed to be explaining to Iris why Barry was in because she already had her, stern look of concern settling into place at seeing Barry in the CCPD HQ.

“That’s impressive dedication” Scott said. “Good for you, Barry” his eyes were big and warm, his handshake strong and sincere. Honestly the guy commanded respect and exuded sincerity and Barry could already feel a liking for the guy even if CCN had gotten a bit more...critical of the Flash apparently.

Or a lot more by comparison, it seems in this world Larkin had retired rather than been murdered and Scott Evans had been a lot slower to think the best of The Flash. A bit of reading had proven that much this morning. Barry was glad Iris was running some interference on that front and giving him a fair chance in the media.

“Aw, yeah, well, people need to be more careful where they eat around here” Barry said with a faint smile as he saw Iris wind her arm around Scotts. 

“Still after everything that happened recently...” Scott gave a nod. “It's really impressive.”

Iris nodded. “We were actually thinking Dad might want to come out to lunch with us, but since you’re here too why don’t we see if Wally has time and grab something near the campus?”

“West. Allen” Singh’s voice snapped out across the hall from the doorway. “My office. Now”.

“Why is it we always sound In Trouble when he calls us?” Barry mused.

“Magic” Joe sighed. “Looks like that’s a no to Lunch.”

“I figured” Iris said as her dad gave her a kiss on the cheek and shoot Scott’s hand. “Rain check” she glanced at the grey skies and the next impending downpour. “Literally” she grimaced. “Better hurry to avoid that. See you later”

“Good luck tonight” Joe added as Scott and Iris stepped into the elevator and waved goodbye.

“What’s tonight?” Barry asked as they headed into the office. 

“She’s meeting Scott’s parents” Joe replied as they briskly crossed the hall towards the captain’s office just beyond the pen. “Apparently it’s a big deal for them, given they’ve known each other under a year and are engaged…that's kind of a step you’d have expected they would have already taken”

That was fast, Barry thought. It hadn’t been so long ago that Iris had been mourning Eddie...still Joe seemed to like Scott even if he evidently disapproved of the engagement’s momentum. 

Captain Singh was staring forlornly at a salad as another man, in his 50s with pale blonde hair and a clean cut demeanour, sat watching him with a stern kind of amusement. “Joe West, Barry Allen, this is Harry Leitner, he’s the Arson investigator for the Central City Fire Department”.

The man gave a professional nod and shook their hands before sitting back down.

“Rob wants me to try cutting down on- you know what never mind” he grunted. “The fire last night in Weston Heights” Barry felt his breath catch. “Harry, you want to tell them?”

“Arson” Leitner said immediately. “Accelerant traces and the damage to the power cables that started it confirm that much. The place was a fire trap, we’re just lucky it had a view of Star Labs, a lot of people moved out two years ago. Things could have been a LOT worse.”

Joe raised his eyebrows but Barry reached out for the report as Singh offered it to him.

“Did we get any news on...on the victim?”

“His autopsy is happening as we speak, Spivot’s on it” Singh said.

Barry nearly dropped the file. “Patty?” He could feel Joe’s quizzical gaze on him. “Great. Yes, she’s good.”

Singh shook his head. “Yeah, that’d be the point of hiring her. I want you to go back over the scene with Joe and see what else you can gather, we are still within the 24 hour window here and Harry and his team were careful as anything” Barry got the distinct feeling these two were old friends.

For one thing it was Harry and not Leitner.

“Sure thing. No problem.”

“We want to get Kenyon questioned ASAP” Singh added.

“I investigated his first few...brushes with a property fire” Leitner almost snarled at the memory, knuckles whitening as he grasped the arms of his chair. “He has a lot of friends in high places and goes to ground so he can lawyer up, you want to find him now before he slithers back under a rock and you have to play find the scumbag.” The vitriol poured off Leitner’s lips as he spoke, more restrained than he had stated but the same intensity was there.

Singh nodded and stood up. “Let's get on it then” he said. “I’ll send someone to Kenyon’s house and get his statement, see where he says he was last night-”

The Captain opened the door and stepped out into the bullpen, as usual everyone paid him a percentage of attention in case he was about to make a statement. “Listen up, I’m putting west on the Weston Heights case as lead, Alvarez, Chung, you two are with him, we want to check the scene and find Keith Kenyon so we can-”

“Just as well I’m here then”

The voice was strong and deep. Keith Kenyon had presence, make no mistake, dressed in a black suit with a golden hued tie and a trenchcoat over his shoulders. He wore a gold signet ring and a wedding band, chunky gold cufflinks and a gold and silver tie pin. His dark hair was a widows peak over strong features and dark eyes with chiseled good looks.

He had two suited bodyguards and a smaller guy in a navy suit and tie on his left in his entourage. “I thought I should come down and get this over with” he smiled. “Mr. Leitner” he nodded with a faint smile, a hue of smugness coloring the emotionless expression he had.

Singh was rarely speechless but Barry was watching it happen now.

“Right this way Mr. Kenyon” the captain said stiffly, gesturing towards his office.

 

**The Old Vandermeer Motors Factory**

Len poured over the blueprints with hawk like eyes as he unscrewed the back of the coffee machine. “Hey” a gruff grunt echoed out.

The old warehouse was a good place to prep for a heist, most old warehouse’s were, but this one had no neighbors for miles, not even a squat or homeless pitch. It gave him the peace he was so fond of.

Mick stood in the doorway across the concrete plot from where Len had set up on a raised platform that had once overlooked a conveyor belt on a new scavenged and vandalised machine. Fortunately old car parts factories tended to be thoroughly gutted so Len had required little cleaning be done for the set up.

It made the space easier to shoot people in, truth told.

Mick’s approach was never silent but it could be understated. He moved deliberately and the hush of the warehouse was broken only by the rustle of combat gear and thick soled boots meeting old concrete flooring. Len eyed his usual partner in Crime.

It was still there, the calculating, curiosity he kept on Len when his back was turned.

Why?

Because he felt something was different too?

“Take a picture it lasts longer”

Heatwave gave a grunt. 

“I have what we need for the heist but we need someone to build it” Len explained as he tapped the top of his computer screen with a screwdriver. 

“Can’t you do it?” Mick grunted.

“Even I have my limits, we need a Cisco Level skill for this”

“Kidnap him again?”

Len gave Mick a cold glare. “I think not. That’d draw the Flash down on us and I rather like the idea of not having to worry about him.”

Mick gave a faint growl...the man communicated like and attack dog most of the time. “You never used to worry.”

“I don’t worry” Len corrected as he fished pieces of the coffee machine out of the exposed innards. “I prepare too much to Worry. I Scheme and I Plan but I will never Worry. The Flash has bigger problems anyway, staying off his radar lets us take what we want without him gumming up the works.”

“Mmmmgh” Mick rumbled. “Still sounds ridiculous. Doing things the hard way because of one little wimp in red”. There was a frightfully deliberate silence for a moment, and all the more frightful because Mick was only deliberate right before something went up in smoke, then he spoke again. “You still want to bend him in half and fuck his skinny little ass?”

Len paused for a moment, he could feel the glacial progress of the frown on his brow before he straightened up and glared at Mick. “We agreed not to talk about that ever again, Mick.”

Mick shrugged but as Len turned away he felt the scrutiny from his comrade intensify. “Just checking” the pyromaniac said in a low voice. Len left Mick to his mood but it slowly built up putting him off balance. 

It was like Mick was...testing him?

 

**The CCPD Offices**

Keith Kenyon was a man with gravitas. It was easy to see him winning people over and eluding jail through his contacts. He cut an imposing figure but with his body language moderated how imposing he was expertly. He and Singh had polite chat in his office, with Singh being aggressive in his questioning but Kenyon deflecting with ironclad good nature.

His lawyer stayed quiet for the duration watching with beady eyes and the impression he was primed to pounce with jargon if anything went awry for his client. Joe sipped on his coffee and eyed the thugs either side of the door. “Legitimate businessmen don’t have goons with gang tats” Joe said in a low voice into his coffee. 

Barry followed his gaze to the dark blue sword on the neck of one of the guys, barely visible behind the collar of his shirt. “I’ll say...we should head to the scene before the trail gets cold.”

“Mhm. Just a minute” Joe said as he watched the office. Kenyon stood up, straightening his jacket and walking out to the bullpen so one of his men could put his trenchcoat over his shoulders. “Thank you for seeing me, Captain, I’ll have to commend you to the mayor this afternoon at lunch.” 

He strode out of the office, leaving an irate Singh in his wake. “Get to the arson scene” Singh snapped, the vein over his left temple throbbing as a warning to everyone around him. “He’s claiming he wants to cooperate fully, so he’s got to be hiding something. I want you to go back over the place with a fine tooth comb and double check everything. Someone on the Fire Ladder gave him a heads up about the finding. Harry had to submit his findings up his chain of command first.”

“Got it” Joe nodded as he and Barry headed out. “Get me answers” Singh called after them as they stepped into the gold surroundings of the elevator. Once the doors closed Barry felt confident in asking a question:

“So what's up with the Captain and Kenyon?”

“Hnh” Joe grunted. “Thats easy. Before your time, you were fresh out of college and the Captain was still a detective. He got assigned to liaise with Leitner and investigate the fires, he couldn’t pin anything on Kenyon though, he alibied out thanks to his wife, Fei. The first torched a lot of buildings and he cleaned up the insurance money...but a lot of people had their lives ruined. Six people were mained and three were killed. Kenyon got off Scot free, rebranded and got heavily involved in the unions. The Captain keeps an eye on him I think, but if Leitner proved arson that's the first real link we have to Kenyon's arson.”

Barry nodded slowly...his mind flickered to that hand again...the charred flesh and contorted fingers...the bright red gash amidst the charred black. He felt the pressure in his chest return, vaguely aware of Joe trying to get his attention.

“Yeah. I’m fine. Just thinking.”

Joe didn't look like he believed him but the elevator doors opened and the case beckoned.

 

**East River District, Central City**

Len and Lisa climbed the stairs to the trendy lot. Music was pouring down the stairs towards them. “What is this? Mozart?”

“Chopin” Len replied immediately.

“Ah...same thing” Lisa shrugged knowing it irked her brother behind the icy demeanour. “So...this guys a tech genius?”

Len nodded. “On par with your favourite nerd, Cisco” he replied, needling her with his nonchalance. Not one to be outdone his sister pursed her lips and said.

“I hear he’s your type. A skinny little twink with daddy issues”

Len glared at her before knocking at the door. He had the cold gun in a bag over his shoulder, he was wearing a suit and tie so he looked like an uptown investor or something. Lisa had gone for the pencil skirt and blazer with white blouse and big sunglasses to compliment his look with her own. Her gold gun was hidden under a scarf in the large Louis Vuitton bag she held on her elbow.

Just two trendy business people visiting a hipster loft.

“Be nice, Lees” Len said gruffly. “We want his help.”

The door of the loft opened and the young man inside was, as it turned out, quite rideable, but also exactly who they had hoped for. “Hartley Rathaway?” Len asked, double checking with a smug smirk.

“...Leonard Snart” Hartley said quietly, a frown appearing on his face over his glasses.

“I hear you’re good with machines, and I need that kind of skill” Len replied. “May we come in?”

Rathaway looked at him coolly. “...It seems unlikely I have a choice in the matter” he muttered, stepping aside to allow them into the neat and cosy red brick loft.

The guy had taste, Len admitted, he also had skills and that meant Len was going to avoid pocketing anything tasteful.

 

**Somewhere Dark and Menacing**

“Now is the time” the voice rasped.

“The lightning calls” the group before him chorused

“We are the children”

“We shall tame the storm”

“Death is our ally”

“We fear it not”

The thin lips of the grandmaster curled into a smile as he turned back, robes whipping in the air behind him, he ran his hands over the cold glass of the rectangular box of green liquid and smiled a crooked smile under his hood. “Soon we shall strike the lightning” he whispered, his echo carrying it through the vaulted rooms.

“And we shall strike true!” he disciples called out.

 

 

**Weston Heights Apartment Block**

Joe watched Barry like a hawk. “It wasn’t your fault, Bear” he said quietly as Barry stared at the space the body had been. “It was whoever set the fire”.

Barry cast an eye to the uniforms still in the area and then, in a low voice, said: “I know, but I should have been able to save him” he could feel that haze settle into his mind again, the what-ifs cluttering his thoughts. 

The man had hidden inside a maintenance closet, when the fuses had burst and the cables gone haywire he had been caught there and...Barry shook his head. No that was wrong. The fuse box had blown, caught the accelerant that Leitner had detected and ...the fire had originated from the maintenance room.

Barry nudged the door open and shone his torch down the short flight of stairs. The smell of burnt flesh hit him suddenly and he descended the steps to maintenance room. The fuse box and mains cables were charred horribly, the sharp scent of melted plastic stung his nose as he examined it.

It looked like they had been smashed with an axe according to Leitner’s opinion, grooves in the wall behind it certainly indicated as much. The small concrete room was blackened all over and Barry took a few moments to get his bearings in the thick, damp air.

His flashlight scoured the walls slowly as he walked forward into the room, watching for any pitfalls or debris. Something was off here, he could see the fire path in his mind’s eye thanks to Leitner’s report...it had spread upwards via an old laundry chute, catching the flimsy walls of several floors and climbing rapidly through the firetrap of a building.

So perhaps the victim was the arsonist?

He shuddered as a prickling sensation wriggled through his body. On the far wall a golden glow sprang up, spreading across it and revealing a series of shapes.

Letters.

Barry stepped back and the light dimmed, intensifying as he approached.

“YOU CANNOT SAVE THEM, FLASH” 

Barry stared for a moment and the urge to run welled up inside him as the words flickered with veins of yellow light. It was like someone had pulled the words from his mind and plastered them before him. 

Which raised more questions than anything else.

He would save them.

He had to save them.

All of them.

**Across Town**

Len and Lisa came down the stairs past the sharply dressed couple in their 50s and out into the street. They walked to the car in silence.

They were halfway back to the cinema when Lisa spoke up.

“You need a boyfriend...or a girlfriend” she mused. “I know you go up and down the Kinsey scale like a pogo stick but that should just mean you have better odds at someone, right?”

Len gave her that cold stare that, frankly, only worked on people he hadn’t grown up with.

She blinked at him. “Come on Lenny!”

“I don’t need any romantic advice, I’m doing fine. I want to focus on the job. It’s a big one, we’ll need a full complement of Rogues”.

Lisa stared at him. “Expanding the gang, Lenny? You’re way too picky for that”

“Spread the word” he continued. “We have rules and we have goals, you play by them you enjoy the protection. Break’em and you get broke.”

Lisa folded her arms and nodded to indicate her understanding. It was outside the cinema that she said. “I just want you to be happy”

“I am” he replied simply if a bit emptily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Weak ending I know. Probably shouldn't have put in Len and Lisa...
> 
> There should be more Barry/Len intersection in the next chapter. Also Patty.
> 
> Also probably more smut.
> 
> I am working through Barrys headspace at the moment but avoided it during the "working out" because I want to get it right and hope people can understand whats going on from what I have revealed. Its probably not enough but it may be too much. I dunno. 
> 
> If you see any plot holes give me a nudge and I will tweak them, I did a bunch of rewrites and worry some stuff slip past when my eyes sort of desensethized themselves.


	4. Breath of Fresh Air

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Flash and Cold have another encounter and the deranged knife wielding maniacs make themselves known. In the meantime: Patty Spivot, M.E.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for how slow this has been, lots of stuff on at the moment and all that jazz. 
> 
> Hope this is enjoyable...there's smut in there so there is

[b]Chapter 3: Breath of Fresh Air[/b]

[b]Central City ME's Office[/b]  
Patty Spivot looked great. Part of Barry hoped he could pull this off without stepping in it. She seemed so at ease and happy, previously he had broken her heart and that still stung him, feelings for Iris or no.

“Hey Barry” she smiled as he came in. “How’s my favorite CSI?”

 

“Not bad”

 

“Are things any better with Julian?”

 

“Yeah...no, he hates me”

 

“Pfft no one hates you, you’re like...chocolate milk, everyone loves chocolate milk”

 

“He must be lactose intolerant” Barry muttered grimly. He checked his phone as it buzzed, Joe was checking in on him, the drive home from the crime scene had been quiet since Barry had seen the message, unfortunately whatever it saw in the message dimmed and all he had was a picture that could tie him, potentially, to being the Flash.

 

“He was down earlier doing some audit” she mentioned. “He isn’t all that bad...a bit prickly but...not that bad”. Barry could feel his attention slipping at the surrealism of her looking so at home in her grey pants, crisp white blouse and lab coat instead of the uniform he had come to know her in. She was living her dream it would seem...or a variation of it. “You’re hear about the arson victim, right?”

 

Barry snapped to it and nodded, following her as she died her hair up with an elastic band off her wrist. “My findings aren’t anything stellar, he died from immolation full body, stuff had melted onto his skin and everything. I’m still running some tests but my guess is that he had accelerant on him” she handed Barry the folder and looked across the tiled room to one of the covered tables. “Dental records confirm he was Greg “Schooey” Schumann, he was the building caretaker, aged 42, homeless until 4 months ago when he got the job in Kenyon’s apartment building. Pretty good health all in all, from what I could tell but I’m working off bones for the most part”.

 

As soon as she turned her back Barry rapidly skimmed the folder, eyes scanning the content and taking in the details in milliseconds. “Electrocuted?”

 

“Huh?” Patty turned around a curious look on her face. “What? Oh! Maybe. Probably not but some tissue damage is indicative of that. Though something seems off, I mean its weird...” she caught the look on Barry’s face. “What I mean is that normally electrocution will leave burns, naturally at the point of entry and the point of exit. Well Schooey here only has one set of burns… exit ones and several of them at that, all on his right hand”.

 

If that didn’t shout Metahuman then what did?

 

“I mean I would have said a device or some sort but...internal organ damage was identical to people who had been struck by lightning. Only he wasn’t struck by lightening because it doesn't match up with everything else.”

 

Barry nodded as Patty’s keen build up became progressively more evident. “So...metahuman?”

 

“Definitely!” she chirped as she sauntered back to her office. “Possibly one made of living lightning or something. I have some more research to do but if anything else comes up or if I have to alter my preliminary COD I will let you know.”

 

“Thanks, Patty” Barry called after her.

 

He made his way out of the building and down a side street where he could run.

 

 

[b]STAR Labs, The Hub[/b]  
Cisco and Caitlin were waiting for him of course but so was Hartley. Judging by the lack of fighting the alteration to make Hartley a friend was still intact. “-with my Mom” Hartley was saying as the bolt of lightning streaked into the room. “Hey, Barry” he nodded.

 

“Hey, Hartley” Barry said cautiously. “Whats up?”

 

“Not much. Just a heads up. Cold is planning something, he came looking for a little engineering help today and I had to” Hartley tilted his head to one side and watched Barry very closely. “I had to turn him down...you okay, Barry?”

 

Barry could feel it a flush tinting his face. Man he wished he had the mask on right now, but no, he just had to have left it in his bedroom. “Yeah fine, what did Cold want?”

 

Hartley grimaced. “You know I can’t say, Rogue redemption and all that, I still play by the code as long as he does. Beside he didn’t tell me but it sounded like something seriously advanced.”

 

Cisco sighed. “Cold was about due another of his big heists”

 

“Naturally” Caitlin muttered. “It’s like a biological instinct for him. Like eating or-”

 

Cisco made a thrusting gesture and earned a crinkled brow of disgust from the red head beside him. “What!? Aside from the fact I cannot possibly imagine Cold getting it on with anyone” his eyes widened and he gave a shudder. “Wait there it is...so much parka and snark...snarka...”

 

Barry almost ran out of the room at the memory of the Parka, the bike ride and the subsequent...his blush was intensifying and suddenly he was incredibly interested in the floor. “Anyway” Hartley continued. “I just wanted to give you a heads up, it’s all I can do”.

 

“Thanks, Hartley” Caitlin smiled, giving him a hug and smiling. “Feel like hanging around for Barry patrolling?”

 

“Can’t, dinner with the family” he smiled broadly in a way that felt oddly familiar to Barry. Like he had seen it before and it was good in a familiar way. If only it reached all the way down for him, this sudden friendship with Hartley was still disjointed.

 

Alien.

 

“That’s going well?” Cisco smiled.

 

“Better and Better” Hartley said with a sincere contentment as he took his coat off the back of a chair and pulled it on. “Later guys.” 

 

Barry waved a bit lamely before turning to face the STAR Labs team. “Looks like the apartments last night were Arson” he said calmly. “The guy who died - he might have been the victim of a metahuman, his body had electrocution exit burns but no detectable point of entry.”

 

Caitlin tilted her head to one side and began accessing the servers. “Cisco’s meta-app might have some data we can work with. Its possible the entry point was hidden by his being burnt alive. Probable even.”

 

“Only the exit point was on his spine” Barry replied. “His coat was flame retardant fabric, a work overall I think, that's how Patty found enough to compare it to standard lightning strike exit points.”

 

“Electricity makes its way to ground” Cisco nodded slowly. “It should exit via the feet”

 

“Which were protected by his work boots but had no exit points” Barry said. 

 

Caitlin nodded. “They’ll need Julian’s help on this”.

 

Barry bristled and he knew it was obvious because Cisco snickered and Caitlin rolled her eyes. “Oh come on Barry, you know he’s good” Caitlin sighed. “I wish you two would see how much you have in common.”

 

Barry laughed, harsher and sharper than he expected. “I have nothing in common with that guy!”

 

“He is a pretty sharp dresser” Cisco mused. “I mean...so many waistcoats. No wonder everyone takes him more seriously”. The engineer grinned as Barry wheeled around on him with a scandalized expression. “Jay Kay dude. Jay Kay El Oh El” he grinned.

 

Barry folded his arms and exhaled harshly.

 

“It’s okay Barry...we know you own waistcoats too” Caitlin said with joking sympathy.

 

Barry sighed again. “I’m going to run patrol, let me know if anything comes up.”

 

[b]Len's Cinematic Hideout[/b]  
Len could feel it again. The thrum of disassociation resonating through his body was nauseating. More sleeping and imagining flashes of white light and nebula's of impossible colour. He hated it, the feeling of something as precise as his mind spinning out into chaos.

 

“Bivolo’s on board” Lisa said from the doorway to the store room of the cinema he was using as a workshop. “He said he was developing a few new tricks. Which is weird, but whatever, Baez is willing to meet me, Mardon’s still bitter you turned him down but we can try to talk him around and some kid called Axel Walker won’t stop leaving messages for us in Saints and Sinners”.

 

“James Jesse’s punk kid” growled Leonard. “Might do in a pinch but he has a lot of Daddy Issues.”

 

“Don’t we all?” sighed Lisa.

 

Stiff silence.

 

They didn’t talk about Lewis. 

 

They didn’t need to.

 

“Keep it up, Lees, Peekaboo and Weather Wizard would be handy to have on side”

 

Lisa nodded. “Mick was asking about you”

 

“Why?”

 

She shrugged. “Just asking if you had been acting differently”

 

“He’s one to talk. I’m just peachy, don’t know why he’s worried, he’s the weird one.”

 

Lisa sighed and left the doorway. Good, the restlessness had peaked and he needed to get out and do something familiar. Like rob a jewelry store or something.

 

There was Gould’s. It had been his backup for if the Santini’s Casino hadn’t panned out to plan and was low priority enough that the Flash wouldn’t get too uptight about it. He grabbed his parka and cold gun and headed out the moment his sister was gone on another of her nightly rides around town,

 

He needed to shake off the slow and slugging sense of something off before the big Heist.

 

This would ruin everything and he hated it when his plans were ruined.

 

[b]Downtown Central City[/b]  
Karla Marinez was a waitress, in two separate diners, if there was a professional waitress it was Karla. She had been a Waitress for years now, always hoping for something else to come along and a new life to start. Instead she had nearly been burnt to death in her apartment. 

 

At this stage she was pretty confident she could head back to Keystone and never look back at Central City.

 

No regrets.

 

She strode out of the hospital and headed for the nearest bus stop.

 

The hand clamped across her mouth and two people grabbed an arm each hauling her back into the shadows of an alleyway as she passed by. There was pepper spray in her purse, but she couldn’t reach it as she was clasped tightly.

 

“Your salvation shall be ours” a voice hissed in the dark. “In death you shall save us” the knife gleamed in the lamplight and Karla tried to scream or bite at the grubby hand clasped over her mouth. It was a woman who held the blade, a jagged metal piece that came down once, right into Karla’s heart.

 

For a moment she heard laughter, then the feeling of smoke in her lungs and then...nothing… she could see a yellow light flow up the blade to the hilt where is sparked blue for a moment as her vision faded and the blistering pain that seared her skin with it.

 

[b]Gould's Jewellery Stor[/b]  
Barry flashed into the jewelry store. The crackle of lightening barely dissipated before a blast from the Cold Gun forced him to move again. The sheet of ice was about three inches thick and glimmered faintly as he sped around it and another blast.

 

“So the ultraviolet signatures are right?” Cisco asked.

 

“Yeah Cisco. It’s Cold. I got this”

 

Barry darted forwards as Snart came into view, he had a bag on his shoulder and his gun at the ready. “Hey Flash, here for a repeat performance?” he fired another blast and forced Barry to duck behind a display case.

 

“Of what? Him getting thrown in jail?” Cisco scoffed.

 

“Be careful, Barry, he seems really cocky”

 

Cocky was a good word. Barry grimaced and reached up to the coms. “Going offline for a second guys, uh, need to… keep it low key”. It was vague but it might be enough to justify his switching off the coms. 

 

His next rush didn’t go well, his foot slipped on the ice across the black and white tiles of the dark little jewellery boutique and sent him crashing into a case. As he struggled to get to his feet the cold gun came into view. “It’s surprisingly easy to get you on your back” Len smirked.

 

Barry felt himself blush again. It had always been a problem but with Snart and his suggestions it was now approaching chronic levels. “I thought I told you not to push your luck with crimes”

 

“You could have ignored me, you do from time to time”

 

“Maybe”

 

“Did Ickle Flashy want to see me again?” Snart smirked.

 

Barry hesitated for a moment...then rolled aside and got to his feet within a heartbeat. “If you read into me every time I bust you then you are going to have a real hard time of it.”

 

Snart licked his upper lip with the tip of his tongue. “How hard?”

 

Barry spluttered despite himself. “I’m going to have to arrest you” he managed. “You keep pushing your luck and-”

 

Snart closed the distance between them and Barry fell silent. “You seem a little tense around me, Scarlet, you want to play some more?”

 

Barry could feel his mouth trying to find words, but they kept slipping away like they were themselves covered in ice. “I uh wuh sorry?”

 

Snart leaned in, lips mere inches from Barry’s. “I believe you wanted to return the favor for the other night” Len growled dangerously. 

 

Barrys mouth suddenly felt dry. “The police will be here soon”

 

“Don’t worry their response time is poor in this neighborhood” Cold pressed against Barry and a tingle ran up the Speedster’s spine. “I’m sure you can make it quick.” Snart put a hand on Barry’s neck and Barry knelt without any further encouragement. He was shaking of course, he had never done this before but, right now, it felt good to let Cold take the lead. 

 

Barry reached up to Snarts buckle, slowly undoing it with shaking fingers. It wasn’t cold, he realised it was ...anticipation? His own cock was already stirring within his suit’s pants as he lowered the zip and spread the trousers open. Powder blue boxer briefs lay beneath and under them a sizable bulge awaited.

 

Barry gulped and slowly tugged the waistband down. 

 

Snart’s cock bobbed free before him, semi erect in the cool air but he could feel the heat even through his gloves as he gripped it. There wasn’t time for foreplay, Snart had that much right, and part of his mind was screaming at him that it was insane to suck his nemesis off with the cops on their way.

 

He looked up at Snart, seeing only his own face reflected in the cold blue lenses of the goggles. 

 

He was on his knees with Snart's rapidly growing cock in his hand, stroking it inches from his face and ...he looked...there was a word and he couldn’t find it...there was some sort of...cathartic sensation at being on his knees at Snarts insistence but his own desire. Even Snart had stopped smirking and was merely watching to see what the Scarlet Speedster would do next.

 

The hot, hard head of Leonard Snart’s cock touching his tongue made him feel oddly serene. He ran his tongue along it, teasing the slit and making the captain hiss in approval. “That’s it Flash” he groaned. “Nice and easy”.

 

Barry was out of practice with this...process. He had an internet connection so he understood the premise at least, but it had been a long time since he had... slowly he eased his way down the shaft, pulling back to cough and splutter as he gagged on the nine plus inches hitting the back of his throat. “Relax” Snart said. “Take it easy. No need to rush”.

 

Barry raised an eyebrow. “The cops?”

 

Snarts smirk returned. “What? Don’t want your boys in blue to see you on your knees?”

 

Barry flushed with colour again. “That...I….”

 

Snart looked surprised as Barry felt himself get harder at the idea of an audience, it must have shown on his face because the villain chuckled. “Well, well, the boy scout has kinks.”

 

Barry Allen dived back onto Leonard Snart’s prick just to shut him up. He tried to relax his throat and control his tongue, sliding the hard cock as far in as he could and then bobbing along it as best he could. He almost laughed when Snart had to prop himself up on a glass case as he knees grew weak. 

 

One victory. Barry hadn't done this in years but apparently he had some talent in it.

 

“Fuck Barry” Snart gasped as the young hero tugged his underwear down under his balls and carefully clasped the large balls waiting for him there. His leather covered hand stroked the large balls as the other clasped the shaft and pumped it as his mouth and tongue took care of the upper reaches of the length.

 

Deepthroating was out so Barry was making up the difference.

 

“Fuck. You’re good at this” Snart growled. “Look up at me” he instructed, lifting his goggles onto his brow and watching the younger man gaze up at him as he slurped and lapped and licked on the throbbing cock in his mouth. “The look suits you”.

 

Barry frowned.

 

That sounded like a genuine compliment.

 

“Yeah?” he gasped pulling off the cock to lick the spit soaked length and kiss the head. 

 

“Yeah” Snart growled, grasping the base of his cock and slapping it off those full pink lips of the fastest man alive. Precum spattered Barry’s face and mask. “Maybe you’re in the wrong profession. Your mouth is like heaven”.

 

Barry’s dick twitched again. The praise was getting to him now.

 

In a really good way.

 

He opened his mouth on reflex as Snart pressed his cock head to his lips. The precum zinged along his tongue, that taste, the feel of the heavy gloved hand laid upon his head, but allowing him to set his pace. It was a test of his eagerness, a chance to prove himself, perhaps.

 

The pace was eager, Barry just barely managed to keep himself on the human-speed side, running his tongue along the underside of the thick, hardness in his mouth, Cold’s groan indicated his approval, a low sound in his chest and a squeeze on the back of the young man’s head. “So good” he praised, the smirk on his lips making Barry buzz with pleasure. “Yes, Scarlet. Yesss”

 

Barry looked up into those dark goggles and that handsome face, he could see his eyes wide and pleading, so needy and desperate. There was something inside him that needed this, to be controlled and lead and...he could see that in his own reflection. The cock left his mouth with a wet pop and despite himself he gave a moan of longing. He kissed the base, lips caressing the cum-heavy balls and then back up to the head before he dived back onto it with zeal.

 

“You’re desperate for it, aren’t you” it wasn’t a question. “So fucking hot, Scarlet”. The hand pulled on Barry’s cowl, pulling him off the cock so the head rested on his lips. The scent of it excited Barry’s senses, sent shivers down his spine and as his spit dribbled with the pre-cum onto his lips, a tantalizing promise. “You want it?”

 

“Mhm” he whimpered.

 

“Say it”

 

“I want it”

 

“Want what?”

 

“Y-Y” Barry licked his lips, the taste there giving him a flash of inspiration. “Your cock. Fuck. Please I need it. Let me suck it. Please” he gasped breathlessly. The desperation was practically suffocating him. He didn’t know what it was but he needed this, the feeling behind it was driving. It was like something had sparked off inside him.

 

“Say please, sir” 

 

“Please. Please, sir” Barry practically whimpered. God, he sounded pathetic.

 

“Good boy” he whispered, sliding the hot, thick, hard cock back into the Flash’s mouth. It was heaven for them both. Cold’s hips bucked as he thrust forward into the tongue and throat so eagerly that Barry felt a sense of achievement from the act alone. 

 

They fell into a rhythm immediately, a cock hardening urgency rushing through his bloodstream as the sirens sounded in the difference. “Better hurry, before the CCPD finds the Flash on his knees with a cock down his throat” Snart gasped as he squeezed the back of Barry’s head through his mask and urged him on.

 

Barry complied, fast and zealous, the sirens growing louder and louder and closer and closer as he bobbed up and down on the cock before him. His suit felt too hot and too tight but it didn’t matter, his world was Snart’s member resting on his tongue and nothing else. He pressed forward into the curls in front of his nose and then right back to only the head was in his mouth, pulsing and filling his mouth. Back and forward. Back and forward. The burn was intoxicating, the friction.

 

Snart reared back suddenly, grasping his slick cock and firing his load into Barry’s face.

 

The ropes of white heat lashed across his mask and lips and cheeks as Captain Cold have a long groan of absolute satisfaction. 

 

As it cooled the mess on his face brought Barry, panting and licking his lips, back to the here and now. The taste was almost too much for him to process - or maybe it was the realization he had just sucked his arch nemesis off in the middle of a frozen over jewelry store.

 

Snart tucked himself away and straightened his parka on his shoulders. “Not bad, Flash”

 

Barry scrambled to his feet. “You don’t get to just walk away -”

 

“You have my cum all over your face”

 

Barry lost his words.

 

“Tell you what, I’ll leave the bag of loot” Snart smirked as he stepped through a doorway and fired the gun, freezing the route closed. “There’s a rag in there to clean up”. Barry gritted his teeth in frustration and grabbed for the bag, pulling a grey rag from the side of the leather satchel and dabbed the evidence away.

 

“Flash?” a voice called out, the beams from torches signalling the arrival of the police.  
“Yeah!” he called out standing up with a painful hardness in his pants.

 

“Did you catch captain cold?” the officer asked as she entered with her partner.

 

Barry licked his lips nervously, the broad shouldered woman had hawk like eyes and a “He managed to give me the slip but I recovered the loot”. Her eyes narrowed into a squint past his right ear. Oh...oh he’d missed a spot. “I’d better see if I can catch him!” Barry blurted before zipping out of the shop past the two bemused officers.

 

He could feel the blush on his cheeks, he was probably almost as red as his suit at this stage. Oh god, what if she saw whatever trace jizz was left on his mask. Would she figure it out? It wasn’t she was like a detective but tomorrows detective was today's officer. What if Joe found out?

 

The Flash stumbled, a jarring crack of lightening in the usual sleek blur as the emergency hail from the hub buzzed in his ear. He fumbled for the control button on his earpiece to bring Caitlin and Cisco online. “Barry! Thank God” Caitlin’s voice came over the airwaves first with the clap and chuckle of a relieved Cisco. “What happened?”

 

“Sorry guys, I got a little - uh - sidetracked, Snart was - he’s gotten really handy with the Cold Gun and ” did he have post fellatio voice or anything? Was that a thing? “Everything okay?”

 

“Yeah, we were just worried” Cisco said. “Cold’s like a Rocky Movie: He keeps coming back even when you really wish he wouldn’t...”

 

The heat in his cheeks intensified and Barry practically burst into flames. “Well I’m going to loop back and then head home”. 

 

“Are you sure? Your vitals are a little...peaked” Caitlin’s voice sounded cautious.

 

“Yeah I’m fine” Barry said, a little to quick for his liking. “Just the post fight buzz”.

 

“Oh - okay” Caitlin murmured. 

 

“Thanks guys, talk soon” Barry chirped as brightly as he could.

 

What if Cisco swabbed the suit? 

 

Would bleach do the trick on it? It should but…

 

He laughed and stopped. Johnstown Park. He stopped by the pond and let out a sigh, then laughed again. This was beyond crazy even by the butterfly effect standards. Seriously, suddenly he was into guys!?

 

Actually that’s not totally fair, there had been a few gazes in high school but...this?! Snart of all people!? He laughed again because holy heck it was unbelievable. A butterfly flapped it’s wings and he was...like this...with Snart. 

 

He laughed again.

 

“Laugh now”

 

The voice was low and as Barry almost thought he hadn’t heard it. The man stood across the water from Barry. He was a skinny, pallid faced man, head shaved and clad in scuffed leathers and scruffy skinny jeans. The piercings on his face were red raw and painful looking but the look on his face showed he didn’t seem bothered.

 

“Oh such things we shall see” the man murmured. “Epilogues as Prologue, sequences out of order shall never be righted. Our salvation is at hand. You cannot save them all Flash”

 

“Who are you?” Barry shuddered under the hollow gaze.

 

“I am of the Lightning. I am the Disciple of the Storm” the knife was in his hands so quickly that Barry swore there was a flicker of blue lightening to it. “I am a teacher and the lesson is that you cannot save them all!”

 

Barry moved, sprinting across the surface of the water, the world slowing to a crawl as he did...save for the knife, the blade move with a streak of light and struck through the heart of its wielder. He fell backwards, the glass bead on the hilt cracking with a silver blue flash and the smell of ozone. 

 

“In sacrifice shall be salvation” he rasped as Barry tried to place his hands on the blood flow, the thick redness staining his gloves as he did. “Accept it, Flaaaaassssh” he gurgled, body going limp on the grass as a sneer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that was so short but I'm working out pacing and length now rather than later and so things take as long as they take I guess.
> 
> Comments are like mana from heaven for me and my inspiration. 
> 
> More smut next chapter probably though not sure betwixt whom.
> 
> Won't it be fun to find out!?


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